A new technology developed by chemists at UCLA is capable of storing solar energy for up to several weeks.

The materials in most of today’s residential rooftop solar panels can store energy from the sun for only a few microseconds at a time. A new technology developed by chemists at UCLA is capable of storing solar energy for up to several weeks — an advance that could change the way scientists think about designing solar cells.

The findings are published June 19 in the journal Science. The new design is inspired by the way that plants generate energy through photosynthesis.

“Biology does a very good job of creating energy from sunlight,” said Sarah Tolbert, a UCLA professor of chemistry and one of the senior authors of the research. “Plants do this through photosynthesis with extremely high efficiency.”

“In photosynthesis, plants that are exposed to sunlight use carefully organized nanoscale structures within their cells to rapidly separate charges — pulling electrons away from the positively charged molecule that is left behind, and keeping positive and negative charges separated,” Tolbert said. “That separation is the key to making the process so efficient.”

To capture energy from sunlight, conventional rooftop solar cells use silicon, a fairly expensive material. There is currently a big push to make lower-cost solar cells using plastics, rather than silicon, but today’s plastic solar cells are relatively inefficient, in large part because the separated positive and negative electric charges often recombine before they can become electrical energy.

“Modern plastic solar cells don’t have well-defined structures like plants do because we never knew how to make them before,” Tolbert said. “But this new system pulls charges apart and keeps them separated for days, or even weeks. Once you make the right structure, you can vastly improve the retention of energy.”

The two components that make the UCLA-developed system work are a polymer donor and a nano-scale fullerene acceptor. The polymer donor absorbs sunlight and passes electrons to the fullerene acceptor; the process generates electrical energy.

The plastic materials, called organic photovoltaics, are typically organized like a plate of cooked pasta — a disorganized mass of long, skinny polymer “spaghetti” with random fullerene “meatballs.” But this arrangement makes it difficult to get current out of the cell because the electrons sometimes hop back to the polymer spaghetti and are lost.

The UCLA technology arranges the elements more neatly — like small bundles of uncooked spaghetti with precisely placed meatballs. Some fullerene meatballs are designed to sit inside the spaghetti bundles, but others are forced to stay on the outside. The fullerenes inside the structure take electrons from the polymers and toss them to the outside fullerene, which can effectively keep the electrons away from the polymer for weeks.

The SIM card has been a painful exercise where technological advances are concerned. Imagine carrying a silly designed pin, storing it in a safe place and fumbling around each time you want to change a card. 'Embedding' the technology is definitely the better way to go.

A simple solution, Internet based, app. locking and unlocking SIMs , without fidgety little gadgets would easily save on a few headaches. Cellphones with such advanced technology would rapidly gain market share. Apple is ahead in thinking like this.

It would be a smart move for a small business to start-up an adapter-like SIM that would fit into any brand of cellphone! Simple logic says that if you take away that prized bull from ISPs who manipulate the SIMs to 'keep' customers-then you create competition and a price drop immediately by transferring choice to the customer-and away from the company.

The task of keeping your profile alive in Social media is directly proportionate to a value. The greater numbers that become aware of your presence, the faster the value quotient will rise. For writers and Poets this is an important understanding. There is no point in writing a masterpiece to allow it to sell itself. It wont. You need to get it it out into the marketplace. This is where social media does the job. As long as you are specific, present and interesting the number of followers will grow. The minute you get boring, repetitive, or uninteresting the numbers will gradually decline.

Social media management is an art as good as writing a novel. It needs a plot, characters, straightforward language, interesting twists and turns and must tell a story that is believable.

The ROI is readership and return. The value lies in that simple equation.

Watch this video. It's the most profound short science video we've seen in a very long time. It shows how the re-introduction of wolves after a seventy-year absence led to...the river courses changing. Yes, that's right. The rivers responded to the presence of a few dozen wolves. Find out how in the video.

The metaphorical implications are enormous, almost too large to hold in our heads. If we can find the right domino to knock over, the resulting cascade of reactions can change the world. Scientists call it trophic cascades.

Imagine how we can make use of this in our personal lives: Make an incremental change (and stick with it, and be patient), and you can change your life and those around you.

And in our environment: A few of the right incremental changes could restore a healthy balance to the entire planet.

Even in politics: What if we elect more non-party candidates who bring reason rather than polarity to issues?

And what a great gift for novelists: It gives a greater leverage to the plot question, What if...?

This becomes an important issue if your copyrighted work goes online. Without a digital signature, even the gems of your creativity is fodder to some unethical thief. read this article. It will help you decide.

With new methods of measurement, a blurring of responsibilities across social, and the growth of content marketing, an organization’s success is built on solid results from its communication efforts. And neither marketing nor PR can do that alone. Learn how PR and marketing can (and should) work together for maximum impact.

Want to spy on bats or whales? Cochlear implants could enhance hearing beyond the human hearing range. Did you ever want to see like Superman or Star Trek’s Lieutenant Geordi La Forge? The Fraunhofer Institute might just be able to fulfill such fantasies since they are developing an eye equivalent which can distinguish between light …

Crafting a content strategy is the first challenge brands face on social; the second is monitoring their performance to improve. Socialbakers has cleverly designed the Smart Storytellers to lessen those difficulties.

Online, in workshops, and even with friends, I frequently get asked What can the iPad actually do? as a sort of challenge to the worth of the device. I would rather that they ask, What can you actually do with an iPad?

A look at using iPads with a focus on how an English teacher approaches the question. One example (of four) provided (and quoted):

I want my students to demonstrate their knowledge of the parts of the story.

Learning Objectives: In addition to learning the story elements, students learn...

* To write a constructive review (plus three more objectives)

Followed by a project, in this case a book poster and suggestions on what apps might be used.

So perhaps the question is not what can a student do, but what can a student do with an iPad (that demonstrate their skills and expertise - think Bloom's taxonomy).

Using an Ipad effectively in today's world is as essential as knowing your alphabets digitally. Its no more just to play games and take pictures. The number of Apps available to expand learning and knowledge is incredible.

Perhaps your child needs to expand his learning horizon much more than simple 'stunts'. Read this article to be informed.

Twitter and other SMM tools work because the exposure opens up a gateway to like-minded communities. Within a week of taking it up seriously I was able to list Publishers, writers, authors, SMM specialists, designers for Book covers, editors and journalists and filter Scoop and Swayy sites for interesting content. This would not have been possible otherwise. At the same time, communication with serious followers enables rapid growth of followers.

This is a much better way of creating and exhibiting a social presence, rather than buying a block of followers for a price with almost all of them in an unknown category. What will you do with a Tower of Babel? Numbers don't mean much if its properly organised and managed.

Thanks to all my followers for the follow and I do do hope to help in your own publicity. @GassMarshall

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.